Shield: Season 6 [DVD] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

well, if you have watched all the way up to and including season five you are going to watch this eventually, who are you kidding?

SHOULD you buy series 6 on dvd now?

I don't give spoilers in my reviews, but I do give my impression of what I saw. I saw damn good things with season six.

DVD quality and sound (still no 5.1 unfortunately) same as usual. Some nice extras.

I was not aware of the cut episode 'controversy' until I read some of the other reviews, I can confirm that the final episode is indeed longer than the others. The end credits roll up at 1 hours 5 mins and 4 seconds. I didn't notice that at the time by the way, I was too busy enjoying the show.

Brilliant. You get serious resolution to the story, and I'm not just talking about that darned IA chappie. Every episode gives a real advance to the plot we have all spent time enjoying, and our favourites, such as the geeky Dutch, are still there in all their glory.

Without spoiling it, all I can say is that I came away from this feeling satisfied, feeling good and just waiting (very) impatiently for season seven. Don't get me wrong, the story is tied up, but I want more.

Very, very, very good. I am impressed with the whole storyline, the acting, the action and the ending.

I have been smiling most of the morning as I remember different bits of this series, and especially the last episode.

Highly recommended. The Shield ends with a roar, not a whimper.

The only negative I can think of is that there are no commentaries on the season 6 DVDs, only a few (albeit interesting) featurettes. The commentaries on other seasons have been very enjoyable, I recommend trying them out if you have not already.

Update: Just to say that Season 7 finished airing in the US at the end of November 08, so hopefully we will get a DVD release sometime in 2009. Fingers crossed!

Update: Release date of Season 7 on DVD is 8 June 2009.

Once again, a reviewer points out the discrepancy between the stated running time of a DVD and its time as listed elsewhere. When will people realise that this discrepancy is only the result of the differing playback systems between Region 1 (NTSC) and Region 2 (PAL). Look up the specifications for a detailed explanation, but understand that PAL video plays a faster frame-per-second rate than NTSC, speeding up the playback by about 3 minutes per hour. Even NTSC is not the same as cinematic frames-per-second but is closer. The difference of about 15 minutes in this SHIELD box-set (unlike Season 5 which really WAS drastically cut for the UK) is solely due to this technical anomaly. Import the Region 1 version if you don't believe me - you'll find they contain exactly the same shows. Nothing taken out. Like brown bread.

It's Strike Team - what do you expect?
In fact, this season mid-way through seems actually to drop the tension and complex interplay of subplots, though only in comparison to the adrenalin-pumping pace of previous series. Don't be fooled! The final episode leaves you on the biggest cliffhanger of all, simply gagging for series 7 - alleged to be the last one ever. It's been a stunning feature of The Shield that while some stories last an episode, some a whole series, the overall story extends across the entire run of the programme. Even 'Lord of the Rings' was only three movies! Only by the very end will all the strands of the whole show be tied up - one assumes. With The Shield, along with morally ambivalent characters and dense complicated yet thoroughly compelling plotting, the only thing you can be sure of is surprises. And shocks.